Jiang Jianqing, the chairman of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has announced that it will implement BlockchainTechnology, as reported by Bianews on September 1st.

Since its inception in 1984, ICBC has grown to become the largest bank in China and is the world’s largest bank by assets held and second in terms of market value. The bank had put a marker, back in 2017, on the use of “intelligent banking” and “accelerated deployment in the field of financial technologies” as a precursor to their most recent announcement.

Bianews also reported that the construction of smart contracts and smart banking application scenarios to help curate a robust financial ecosystem and ensure financial security are prime targets for ICBC.

China, over the years, has been known for cracking down on cryptocurrency networks operating covertly in the country and their negative attitude towards the idea of a universal, unregulated digital currency. However, the stance is not shared when it comes to the underlying technology the cryptos use i.e. Blockchain, in fact, there is a push to promote and propagate the technology to a number of industries.

Just last week, the Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County of Sichuan Province and Beijing Sinfotek Group came together to establish a new blockchain company with the objective of “forestry economic development and industrial poverty alleviation.”

Earlier this month a book on Blockchain Technology and its applications was released by none other than the ruling Communist Party of China. These are important signaling effects that China, who has been viscerally opposed to cryptocurrencies, has embraced and even pushed the study of blockchain technology and even advocated its use. The coming years could hold more cases of crypto-adoption by this superpower.